Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1887-08-19

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it would only be quick.
So they dug up the earth with
their hands, reckless of the blood
streaming out from broken finger
nails and heaping it up in little
mounds, while all the while came the
heartrending cry "For Gods sake
don't let US bnrn to DEATH" But final
ly the victory was won, the fire was
put out after four hours of endeayor
ing, and as its last sparks died away
a light came up in the East to take
their place and dawn came upon
scene of horror
While the fight had been going on,
men had been dying and there were
not SO many wounded to take out of
the wreck as there had been four
hours before. But in the meanwhile,
the country had been aroused; help
had come from Chatsworth, Forest
and Piper City, and as the dead were
laid reverently along side of each 9TH
er out in the cornield' there were
ready hands to take them into Chats
worth, while some Of the wounded
were carried to Piper City. One
hundred aud eighteen was the awful
pool of the dead, while wounded
number four times as many. The
full tale of the dead can not, howev-
er be told yet for days.
THE TOWN MADE MORGUE
Chats worth was turned into NOR
que today. The Town Hail. the
engine house and the depol were all
full of dead bodies, while every house
in the little village has its quota Of
the wounded. There were over 100
corpsss lying in the extemporized
deadhouses, and every man and woman
was turned into an amateur but zeal
GUS nurse. Over in lumber yard the
noise of hammers and saws rang in
air, and busy carpenters were making
rough coifins to carry to their homes
the dead bodies of the excurslonists,
who twelve hours before had left
their homes of full pleasurable expecta-
tions of the enjoyment they were 60
ting to have during the vacation
which had begun.
When the news of the disaster was
first flashed over the wires, prompt
aid was at once sent Dr. Steele,
chief surgeon of the Toledo, Peoria
and Western Road has come ON spe-
cial train, and with him wereitwo other
surgeons and assistants. From Peor-
la also came Drs Martin, Baker, Flu
egler and johnson, and from every
city whence the unfortunate eXcursl'
onists had come their ply ysicians and
friends hurried on to help them.
From Peoria had also come delega-
tions of the Red Men and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, members
of both societies being ON the ill-fated
train, and 80 after So'clock in the
morning there were plenty of people
to do the work that needed
such prompt attention. In the Town
Hall was the hospital, and in it anx-
ious relatives and sorrowing friends
sat tanning gently the sufferers faces,
queried the attending surgeons and in
sisted that there must be hope. Down
at the deadhouses, fathers, husbands
brothers, sisters, wives and children
tearfully inspected each face as it was
uncovered, and sighed as the features
were unknown, or cried out in an
guish when the well-known face
sometimes fearfully mangled but yet
recognizable, was uncovered. The
entire capacity of the little village was
taxed, and kind hearted women came
from miles to give their ministrations
to the sufferers.
No sooner had the wreck occurred
than scene of robbery commenced.
Some band of unspeakable miscre-
ants, heartless and with only ami
NAL instincts, was on hand, and like
the guerillas who throng the battle
field the night after conflict and filch
the dead of the money which
they received for their meagre pay,
stealing even the bronze medals and
robbing from the children of heroes
the emblems of their fathers bravery,
so last night did these human hyenas
plunder the dead from this terr rible
accident and take even the shoes
which covered their feet. Who these
wretches are is not known Wheth
er they were band Of pickpockets
who accompanied the train or some
robber gang, who were
lurking in the vicinity can
not be said. The horrible suspicion,
however, exists, and there are many
who give it credit that the accident
was deliberately planned case of train
wrecking; that the bridge was set on
fire by miscreants who hoped to seize
the opportunity offered, and the fact
that the bridge was go far consumed
at the time the train came aloug, and
the added fact that the train was an
hour and half late, are pointed out
as as evidences of careful conspira-
cy. 1t seems hardly possible that
men could be go lost to oil the ordina-
ry feelings which animate the basest
of the human race; but still men who
will rob dead men; who will steal
from the dying and will plumber the
wounded held down by broken beams
of wrecked car, whose death by fire
seemed imminent, can do most any
thing which is base and that is what
these fiends in human form did
They went into the cars when the
fire was burning fiercely underneath
and when the poor wretches who
pinned there begged them "for Gods
sake to help them out stripped them
of their watches and jewelry and
searched their pockets for money.
When the dead bodies were laid ont
the cornfeld5 these hyenas turned
them over in their search for valua.
bles, and that the pluudering was
done by an organized gang was prov
en- by the fact thai this morning out
in the corn field sixteen purses, all
empty, were found in one heap 1t
was ghastly plunderins. and had
the pluEderers been caught this after
noon they would surely have been
| lynched.
A HUSBANDS SUICIDE.
There was incident which stood
out moro horrible than all those hor-
rible scenes In the second coach